Pre-employment testing is not new. They were formally introduced to hire for the US Army in World War 1 and have become mainstream across every industry over time.

Pre-employment tests help employers identify which applicants are most suitable for a particular job role. Such tests assess the candidate’s suitability for a specific role through job-knowledge tests, intelligence, and personality traits. However, the tests should be compliant with the U.S. EEOC’s (Equal Employment Opportunity Commission) guidelines and other laws.

Let’s learn more about the benefits of pre-employment testing in detail below.

Saves Time

According to a report by Glassdoor, the average US employer spends around 24 days to hire a new employee. That’s almost a month!

Conducting interviews and screening references is a time-consuming process. And to streamline the process, many companies automate the early stages of the screening process. Pre-employment testing plays a critical role there.

Such tests help ensure the person you plan to hire is ready and most suited for the job. It eliminates the need to interview candidates who do not possess the required qualifications and skills.

With the right candidate testing tool, hiring managers and recruiters can spend time with only the best candidates. Not only does this significantly reduce time and cost-to-hire, but also increases accuracy in selecting the right candidates.

Increases Employee Retention

Another key benefit of pre-employment testing is that it helps you hire candidates that are most likely to stay in your company for a long period of time.

Since such tests can accustom candidates to both the job expectations and to the environment within the company, the new employee is better prepared for the job.

This means you and the candidate can come up with decisions based on what’s best for both of your needs. If the candidate finds him/herself a good fit for the company, and the pre-employment tests demonstrate that s/he has is the most competent candidate for the job, can move forward and put skills to work to benefit the company.

Candidate testing impacts employee retention primarily in two ways. It helps curtail voluntary turnover by making sure that candidates have realistic expectations about the job role and have the right abilities and skills to successfully perform the work.

Helps You Make Data-driven Hiring Decisions

You or your hiring manager might have a gut feeling about certain candidates because of their rich experience. Unfortunately, that doesn’t always translate into the right hiring.

It could lead to the wrong conclusions if it takes the form of unconscious bias. Furthermore, it is also not legally defensible.

You never know when a candidate or employee can go against your organization. If a candidate files a lawsuit for discriminatory recruitment practices, you will have a hard time contending your or hiring manager’s obscure presumptions.

However, candidate testing tools provide you something tangible to guide your hiring decisions. They enable you to be specific about your reasons for turning down candidates instead of relying merely on instinct.

Pre-employment Testing is More Objective

Resume screenings, pre-interview calls, and unstructured interviews are inadequate predictors of job performance. This is because hiring managers and recruiters often judge candidates based on abstract, rather than job-related precedent.

Candidate testing works differently. If it’s well-designed, can help you draw more objective conclusions. Pre-employment testing tools measure what they are designed to measure, produce consistent results, and reliable.

Other Benefits

The advantages of pre-employment testing is not just restricted to the ones mentioned above. Here is a quick rundown of many other benefits.

● Online candidate testing doesn’t need to be specifically organized. Candidates can take the test from anywhere at any time. This translates into reduced administration.

● Advanced pre-employment testing tools come with instant diagnostic reports.

● The evaluation process is free of human error and more reliable.

● It helps avoid the inconvenience of manual storage and management of all candidate and test-related information.

● It ensures better candidate engagement and higher candidate satisfaction because of the seamless recruitment process.

● It offers a wider reach as applicants from remote locations can apply for jobs and appear for the initial round of testing. This increases the reach of your organization.

So, do you have any questions about pre-employment testing?